


house in the sun

by soperiso



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Dimension Travel, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, Pining, Time Travel, but don't worry it's, it's a get together fic, just trust me i know what i'm doing, kind of, no but srsly this is just baby pepper loving baby tony and being awkward as hell, teen rating is for one singular f bomb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27063667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soperiso/pseuds/soperiso
Summary: Pepper catches a glimpse of silver on Other Pepper's hand and her heart skips a beat.“Are you married?” She blurts out.Other Pepper takes her hand off of her forehead to look at the ring on her finger. She gets a soft look on her face. “Yeah, I am.”Pepper gasps, “To who?”When a matching soft look crosses Other Tony’s face, Pepper almost screams. It’shim. She’s married tohim.__Or, high school sophomores Pepper Potts and Tony Stark accidentally meet their future (alternate dimension?) selves and learn the meaning of the word awkward.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 94





	house in the sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brittanyisart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittanyisart/gifts).



> happy birthday bri!!!! you're the sweetest, most wonderful person and you deserve the best birthday!!!

Pepper Potts knows a lot of things about Tony Stark. She knows that he pretends to like his coffee black, when he really likes it with deadly amounts of sugar. No cream, though. He says too much cream gives him indigestion. She knows that he likes to mumble things to his robots while he’s working on them, almost as if they’ll understand. They just might, for all Pepper knows. She knows that Tony Stark is a genius with an intellect far beyond his age—a sophomore who could best most seniors in college. 

The most important thing Pepper Potts knows about Tony Stark is that he absolutely, most definitely, doesn’t like her back. He likes her as a friend, sure, she might just be his second-best friend only after Rhodey. That’s not the problem. The problem is that he doesn't look at her the way she looks at him. He doesn’t do a double-take every time he thinks he might’ve seen her in the hall. He doesn’t want that kind of relationship with her, and that’s okay. 

Well, it’s not okay, but she’s accepted it. It’s just another one of the things Pepper Potts knows about Tony Stark.

She also knows that he likes to go over the top with his projects—that he likes to mess around and create crazy things just because he _can_. That brings her to right now, watching him from a couch in the corner of his workshop as he hammers away at something.

“I thought it’d be better not to ask, but now I’m curious—what are you even _making_?” Pepper says, folding her legs underneath her.

Tony doesn’t look up from his project. “It’s kind of a portal to another dimension? But also not really. I’m not sure what I’m doing. I'm just messing around.”

“A portal to another dimension is… messing around?” Pepper deadpans, her eyebrows inching their way up to her hairline.

Tony shrugs. “I guess.”

“I came over here to work on our English project, not to watch you break the laws of science. Can we get started on that, please?” Pepper stands up and walks to stand over Tony’s shoulder. She can’t help herself from breathing in the scent of gasoline and expensive cologne that always seems to cling to him. A scent that’s unique to Tony and that Pepper can’t get enough of.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony mumbles, still enraptured in his project, “Just gimme a second, I think I’m about to figure something out.”

Pepper sighs, resolving to stand next to him until he finishes whatever he’s about to do. It’s okay, really, because as much as she’s anxious to start their project, she likes standing close to him and watching him in his element even more.

“Fuck!” Tony says before a bright, blue light encompasses the entire room.

It’s blinding, and all Pepper can do is shoot her hand forward and grip as tight as she can onto Tony’s arm as she feels her stomach drop.

When the blue light fades and she feels like she’s on solid ground again, Pepper opens her eyes to find herself in a skyscraper overlooking New York City. She’s still clutching Tony's arm, but he doesn’t seem to mind. 

People live here, Pepper is sure. Why else would there be jackets slung over the armrests of plush couches and half-filled glasses of water resting on silver countertops? They’re in someone’s home, which makes this whole ordeal even more uncomfortable.

“What happened?” she whispers.

“I don’t know,” Tony says, running an anxious hand through his tousled brown waves.

Before he can say anything else, the elevator doors at the end of the room open up to reveal two people—one in a black AC/DC t-shirt over a blue long-sleeve shirt and one in a put-together pantsuit, the latter tapping away on a tablet as she chuckles at something the former is saying. 

Pepper can only gape. That’s _them_. They’re older. They’re different. But it’s them.

She glances at her Tony, who’s as shocked as she is. “It worked,” he mutters.

The other Pepper and Tony stop in their tracks, just noticing the other occupants of the room.

Other Pepper drops her tablet in shock. It shatters against the floor.

“What the hell?” Other Tony says, “How did you-”

Her Tony cuts him off, “What are you _wearing_?”

Other Tony frowns, picking at his shirt, “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing,” Her Tony says, “It’s a great look if you’re a depressed dad who’s given up. Oh God, is that my future? Is that what’s in store for me? ‘Cause you’re obviously me but, like, fifty years older.”

Other Tony sends an exasperated look at Other Pepper, “Was I always this much of a bastard?”

“Yes,” both Peppers say. 

“Is this your building?” Her Tony asks, glancing around the lavish room.

“ _That’s_ your biggest concern right now?” Pepper says. 

“I want to know!”

Other Pepper places her palm on her forehead. Pepper catches a glimpse of silver on her hand and her heart skips a beat.

“Are you _married_?” She blurts out.

Other Pepper takes her hand off of her forehead to look at the ring on her finger. She gets a soft look on her face. “Yeah, I am.”

Pepper gasps, “To who?”

When a matching soft look crosses Other Tony’s face, Pepper almost screams. It’s _him._ She’s married to _him._

Her Tony doesn’t seem to catch on, his brow furrowed, “Who is it?” he asks.

Other Tony lifts his hand to show a matching ring. 

Her Tony’s eyes grow wide. “Oh,” he says.

Other Pepper frowns, “Are you guys not together?”

Pepper blushes, shaking her head. Her Tony runs a hand over the back of his neck, a blush to match hers spreading over his cheeks.

“Oh,” Other Pepper says.

Other Tony coughs. “Let’s figure out how to get you two home, yeah? Yeah.” He starts walking to the elevator, gesturing for her Tony to follow him, “Come on, I’m gonna need you for this one.”

Her Tony follows, glancing quickly at Pepper before jogging after him.

When it’s just her and the other version of her, Pepper allows herself to flop onto the nearest couch, burying her head into one of the pillows. 

Other Pepper sits on the other end of the couch, resting a comforting hand on Pepper’s calf.

“You like him,” she says. It isn’t a question.

Pepper groans pushing her face deeper into the pillow.

“He likes you too, you know.”

Pepper sits up quickly, clutching the pillow to her chest. “He does not.”

Other Pepper smiles, “Does too.”

“Does not!”

“How do you know?”

Pepper squeezes the pillow, resisting the urge to bury her face in it again. “I just do.”

Other Pepper hums, guiding Pepper to rest her head on her lap and placing the pillow back against the armrest. She gently strokes Pepper’s long hair. It’s more comforting than it should be, given that it’s her future (alternate?) self who’s petting her.

“I don’t want to ruin our friendship,” Pepper whispers. “He means too much to me.”

“You have to take risks, love. It took me way too long to realize that. I know you want to measure every step you take, to make sure you’re on the right path, but life is so much better when you just take those steps without measuring them first: when you just live life freely rather than with so much restraint. Believe me, I’ve been there. I know how terrified you are of risks, but this one is worth it.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“What risks have you taken?” Pepper asks.

Other Pepper chuckles, “Far too many to name.”

“Which one was the best?”

“I’m not sure you’ll understand it yet,” Other Pepper says, a faraway look in her eyes.

“Tell me anyway.”

Other Pepper sighs, tucking her hair behind her ear. “There’s someone who’s really important to me, and they were making some decisions that scared me. I didn’t know if each time I saw them would be the last. I was going to walk away from them—I was going to leave before I got hurt. But I didn’t. I stayed, and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

“Did you get hurt?”

“Yeah,” She chuckles wryly. “Yeah, I got hurt. But it was okay, in the end. We’re past that, and I couldn’t be more grateful for what I have now.”

Pepper shifts to look up at herself, her head still on Other Pepper’s lap. Her older self seems good. Real good. She has smile lines next to her eyes—something that Pepper had never wanted, but now she does. She wants those same smile lines because then she knows she’ll have been the kind of happy that never really leaves your face, that comes back years later to show that it was there. The kind of happy that isn’t fleeting. 

“I think all versions of Tony were meant to love all versions of Pepper,” other Pepper says, “I think it’s a universal constant. What we have—what we’ve always had—is too strong to only be in one universe. It’s too strong to be limited to only us. Even if it’s platonic love, it’s still love.”

“You really think that?” The searing hope blossoming in her chest shouldn’t be so strong, but it is. If all Tonies love all Peppers, then that means there’s a chance for her. There’s a chance.

Other Pepper nods down at her, something warm in her eyes that makes Pepper feel safe.

For a long moment, they don’t say anything. Other Pepper resumes stroking Pepper’s hair, and they simply exist. Pepper finds herself looking around the space, at the photos hanging on walls and sitting on tabletops of them in various stages of life—there’s one of them sitting together on a park bench, eating ice cream. Other Tony has a mint-chocolate chip mustache and Other Pepper’s laughing so hard her eyes are watering. There’s another photograph of them at a gala: Other Pepper in a blue silk gown and Other Tony in a tuxedo. They’re not laughing, but their eyes are. They’re locked in an embrace—a dance, from the looks of it. Pepper longs, so sincerely, so viscerally, for what they have. This place is covered in _them_ , in their love. It’s in the matching mugs in the kitchen sink and even in the way the room smells—like a mixture of something that’s recognizably Tony and something that she remembers from her own home.

Pepper doesn’t know how long they sit there, but eventually the Tonies resurface.

“We did it,” Her Tony says, grabbing an apple off of the fruit bowl on the counter, “We can go home now.”

“That’s good to hear,” Other Pepper says, gently guiding Pepper off of her lap so she can stand up to hug Other Tony.

He grins, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Pepper glances at her Tony to see how he reacts and finds him looking at her, a faint blush on his cheeks. A matching one forms over hers. They both look away.

They all go back down to the lab, where a machine is whirring and ready to go. Pepper looks at her other self, “Thank you,” she says. 

Other Pepper smiles, squeezing Pepper’s shoulder. 

“I guess we should, uh,” Pepper gestures to the machine. 

“Yeah.”

Pepper and her Tony walk to the machine, which has started to glow bright blue like before. She looks back at their alternate selves one last time and has to pry her eyes away from their joined hands. Before she can convince herself not to, she grasps Tony’s hand in her own as she lets the blue light consume them.

Her stomach drops, and then she opens her eyes to find herself back in her own universe.

“That was…” she begins, then stops.

Tony hums. “What did you think?” He asks. “Of them, I mean.”

Pepper takes a deep breath. “They seemed really happy.” 

“Did you ever, uh…” Tony says, but he never finishes his sentence.

Pepper musters up all of her courage. “Think that could be us?” She finishes for him.

Tony blushes, then nods.

“I, um, think it could be. If we wanted it to.”

Tony takes a sharp inhale. “Do you want it to?”

Pepper looks him in the eye, then at the floor. She might as well be running a marathon for how fast her heart is beating. She remembers what other Pepper had said—about every Tony loving every Pepper—and thinks that even if he doesn’t want her romantically, they can still be friends. 

So, she takes a chance.

Letting go of his hand, she places hers on either side of his face and brings them together into a kiss. It’s awkward, it’s fumbling. Neither of them knows what they’re doing, really. But it works, because it’s them. 

Tony pulls back. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.”

“Yes,” Pepper breathes, before pulling him back in.

Pepper Potts knows a lot of things about Tony Stark. She knows that his lips taste like coffee. She knows that he likes AC/DC more than he lets on. She knows that his hair is soft and lovely to touch. 

Most importantly, she knows that Tony Stark likes her back. And that’s enough. _They’re_ enough.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> the alternate!pepperony were supposed to be from the mcu, kind of? but it was really open to interpretation. 
> 
> thanks for reading, i hope you liked it! feel free to leave a kudos and a comment! 
> 
> come hang out with me on [tumblr!](https://soperiso.tumblr.com)


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